CINNAMON ROLLS

Photo and recipe: Renee Van Blerk Cupido

Dough
½ cup (115 g) unsalted butter, melted
2 cups (500 ml) full cream milk, warm to the touch
½ cup (100 g) sugar
1 pack instant yeast (10 g)
5 cups (625 g) flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
Filling
¾ cup (170 g) butter, softened
¾ cup (165 g) light brown sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
Frosting
55 g cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (160 g) powdered sugar
Generously butter two disposable foil cake pans or a large baking dish.
In a large bowl, whisk together warm milk, melted butter, and granulated sugar. The mixture should be just warm, if it is too hot, allow to cool slightly.
Sprinkle the yeast evenly over the warm mixture and let set for 1 minute.
Add 4 cups (500 g) of all-purpose flour to the milk mixture and mix with a wooden spoon until combined.
Cover the bowl with a towel or plastic wrap and set in a warm place to rise for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 180˚C.
After 1 hour, the dough should have nearly doubled in size.
Remove the towel and add an additional ¾ cup (95 g) of flour, the baking powder, and salt. Stir well, then turn out onto a well-floured surface.
Knead the dough lightly, adding additional flour as necessary, until the dough just loses its stickiness and does not stick to the surface.
Roll the dough out into a large rectangle, about 1 cm thick. Fix corners to make sure they are sharp and even.
Spread the softened butter evenly over the dough.
Sprinkle evenly with brown sugar and a generous sprinkle of cinnamon.
Press the mixture into the butter.
Roll up the dough, forming a log, and pinch the seam closed. Place seam-side down. Trim off any unevenness on either end.
Cut the log in half, then divide each half into 7 evenly sized pieces. About 8 cm thick each.
Place 7 cinnamon rolls in each cake pan, one in the center, six around the sides. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm place to rise for 30 minutes.
Bake the cinnamon rolls in a preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown.
To prepare the frosting. In a medium-size mixing bowl, whisk together cream cheese, butter, whole milk, vanilla, and powdered sugar, until smooth.
While still warm, drizzle evenly with frosting.